Making Two Factor Authentication Easier

Everyone running a company has many goals. One that most probably have in common, though, is that they want to make sure their organization is as secure as possible. Whenever news breaks of another business or even a government getting hacked—and it seems like this happens about every week now—CEOs, CTOs and other executives around the world cringe knowing they could be next. This is why two-factor authentication is so important to the future of your company. However, if you’re worried that these added measures may be more burden than benefit, there are some very simple ways to ensure it’s easy to take advantage of this option.

The Importance of Easy Authentication

Some of you may not be sold on the importance of authentication software that is easy to use. For many, the main and most important objective is keeping hackers at bay. Their thought process is that if it takes a little extra work to do this, it’s automatically worth it.

There are a few problems with this line of thinking though. First, if your authentication software is too difficult, many users may find workarounds. Employees who use these systems each and every day often know of ways to bypass hurdles that stand between them and their productivity.Second, you have to consider the hidden costs of authentication software that takes users out of the game while they’re waiting for it to work. Every minute they’re not doing their job is a minute you’re paying for and not getting any results.Hopefully, that helps you better appreciate why it’s worth looking for ways to make authentication as easy as possible.

Prepare Accordingly

Right from the get-go, make life easy on yourself by preparing accordingly for the implementation of your software. This will usually take a good amount of time to get it rolled out across your entire enterprise. Then there’s also the time that will be required to ensure everyone understands how to use it properly.

This is definitely going to cost your company, in terms of money and opportunity, but it’s unavoidable. Two-factor authentication remains a fairly new form of security most of your employees will not be familiar with. Instructing them on its proper use is going to take time.

Also, some of your employees are going to take longer to go through implementation than others because of their role within the company. An entry-level employee won’t need the same kind of access as one of your vice-presidents, meaning the latter will most likely need more time during the roll-out.

Again, this is an unavoidable issue, so just prepare beforehand so that it goes as smoothly as possible. Remember, too, that first impressions count even where software is concerned. You don’t want your employees’ first contact with two-factor authentication to be a negative experience.

Combine Two-Factor Authentication with a Single Sign-On Platform

Alright, after that last section, you may be second-guessing any use of technology, but keep in mind why you’re doing this: to make it nearly impossible for a hacker to find a way in and put you on the new evening news.

Single sign on platforms will help with this in a big way. Even with two-factor authentication, your attempts at security may come up a bit short. Simply put, employees still need to choose passwords. Most of them probably have a few logins too, which means you’re looking at as many passwords, at least. They most likely have to change them every 30 or 60 days as well.

Is it any wonder that, by and large, people are really bad at choosing passwords? Be that as it may, you can’t simply accept that employees are going to pick terrible passwords that leave you vulnerable, especially after you’ve invested in software specifically to combat the problem.

Enter single sign on software. These titles make it possible for an employee to remember just the one password to access a stockpile of other passwords for their various platforms. You can use two-factor authentication if you like to keep the virtual stash safe as well. Then, you can use two-factor authentication for all of your employees’ sign-ons too.

The end result is better security and an even easier way to benefit from it than just using two-factor authentication.

Leverage Key Fobs

One of the best ways of making two-factor authentication as effective as possible is to use a key fob. This gives an unrivaled form of authentication that is virtually impossible for a hacker to compromise.

The key fob is a physical device that’s usually no bigger than a small keychain. Don’t let its size fool you, though. This little device packs a serious punch in terms of security. A user has a PIN number unique to them that corresponds with their key fob. When they go to sign in and get prompted for their key fob credentials, they’ll begin with that PIN number.

Then they’ll look on their key fob for the digital readout of a code they’ll be putting in as well. The reason why this method works so well is that the code associated with the key fob account is constantly changing. Roughly every 30 to 60 seconds, a new code comes along. This makes it virtually impossible for a third-party to get a hold of the information and compromise your system. Only the person in physical control of the key fob can really ever use it. If the device goes missing or gets stolen, you just replace it and cancel out the old one remotely. There are all kinds of different key fobs on the market right now, so take your time trying to find the one that will combine effectiveness with convenience.

Two-factor authentication is definitely worth investing in. It’s one of the best ways to keep your company’s digital infrastructure from getting infiltrated and virtually erases the risks associated with human error and passwords. Still, if you’re worried that it might be a bit complicated for your employees, the above should help make things much easier.